SDP Vs VPN —Why not the best of both?

Posted by onAugust 21, 2019| Featured

Due to the frequent use of mobile devices and public Wi-Fi networks, resources often need to be accessible from anywhere. But this accessibility must be balanced with the need for security. Traditional VPNs enable secure remote access, but more is needed. This extends beyond the need to further increase the security of remote access into the fact that many of today’s applications and data are no longer behind the network perimeter: they have moved to the cloud. This increasing use of the cloud highlights the need for a new, next generation VPN. Hence the debate of SDP Vs VPN. But when Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) can function as a next generation VPN, there is no need to compromise.

Current Generation VPN

Current generation VPNs have worked for years to make
accessing resources remotely easier and more secure. Thanks to them, people can
access resources from beyond their current network. VPNs work to send all your
network traffic to a separate network. This allows you to access resources that
are not locally available. They also provide features like improved security
through encryption, limited profiled based access, and visibility and
monitoring. At the same time, the focus of the current generation of VPN
remains upon protecting resources behind, what has proven to be, an ineffective
network perimeter. For this reason, it’s time for a more cloud-friendly alternative
that accounts for the need for internal security within both a network and the
cloud instead of relying on a firewall to protect a network perimeter as this
can lead
to vulnerabilities.

Next Generation VPN–Software Define Perimeter Benefits

SDP is an approach to cybersecurity based on the Zero Trust Model. SDP works to provide the same user experience to those on-premise or beyond a network’s perimeter while granting access to only the resources users need. This ability to provide the same experience means that users don’t need to remember to connect the way they would with a current generation VPN. For a more in depth look at how SDP improves security, see toolbox’s article Achieve a Zero Trust Network with a Software Defined Perimeter.

SDP Vs VPN—SDP Offers More

As the list above details, SDP provides not only all the
features of a current generation VPN but more security, including application-based
security. It is worth expanding on a few of the advantages of SDP.

Given the nature of current generation VPNs, they are open
to attack through the public internet. As mentioned previously, SDP helps
eliminate this problem using its technique of leaving ports blocked and
encrypting all traffic.

While current generation VPNs can achieve similar results
through user-based access policy, the results are often less flexible and tedious
to put into place and maintain. With SDP, on the other hand, native integration
with SAML, LDAP, or Active Directory can permit you to make changes to group
membership and immediately impact the access policies for users in your
existing Identity Access Management solution.

Another key use case of SDP is as application security. Current
VPNs do not directly address application security. Once you are on remotely,
you have broad access to resources within the perimeter. This means that if a
user’s VPN password is phished, the attacker has that same broad access. SDP
helps protect applications and data against such attacks by preventing lateral
access to resources—a user only has access to a very narrow set of resources,
and with SDPs ability to authenticate access with MFA before permitting the
connection to resources, there are multiple levels of protection. The result is
enhanced application and data access security for internal wired and
wireless-based network perimeter devices. As an added bonus, this use case
addresses regulatory compliance for a wide variety of industries all while
improving the end user’s experience through an easy, consistent approach to
accessing protected applications and data.

Get SafeConnect SDP

Impulse’s SafeConnect SDP solution provides the advantages
of SDP mentioned above with its use case as a next generation VPN. Learn more about SDP or try SDP today with Impulse’s 60-day free
trial.